Durable conformal wear-resistant carbon-doped metal oxide-comprising coating

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to carbon-doped metal oxide films. A method of depositing a low friction metal oxide film on a substrate is provided, including: using an atomic layer deposition technique, wherein said metal oxide film is deposited using at least an organo-metallic precursor, and wherein said substrate is at a temperature of 150° C. or lower during deposition of said metal oxide film, whereby a carbon-doped metal oxide film is obtained. The carbon-doped metal oxide films provide a low coefficient of friction, for example ranging from about 0.05 to about 0.4. In addition, the carbon-doped metal oxide films provide anti-stiction properties, where the measured work of adhesion is less than 10 μJ/m 2 . In addition, the carbon-doped metal oxide films provide unexpectedly good water vapor transmission properties. The carbon content in the carbon-doped metal oxide films ranges from about 5 atomic % to about 20 atomic %.

The present application claims priority as a divisional of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/072,086, filed Feb. 22, 2008, titled: “DurableConformal Wear-Resistant Carbon-Doped Metal Oxide-Comprising Coating,”which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/903,151 filed Feb. 23, 2007, and titled: “Durable, ProtectiveAnti-Stiction Functional Coating.” These applications are incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety. In addition, the presentapplication is related to a series of patent applications pertaining tothe application of thin film coatings on various substrates,particularly including the following applications, each of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: U.S. application Ser.No. 10/759,857, filed Jan. 17, 2004, and titled: “Apparatus And MethodFor Controlled Application of Reactive Vapors To Produce Thin Films andCoatings” (abandoned Sep. 13, 2006); U.S. application Ser. No.11/112,664, filed Apr. 21, 2005, and titled: “Controlled VaporDeposition of Multilayered Coatings Adhered By An Oxide Layer” (now U.S.Pat. No. 7,776,396, issued Aug. 17, 2010); U.S. application Ser. No.10/912,656, filed Aug. 4, 2004, and titled: “Vapor Deposited FunctionalOrganic Coatings” (abandoned Jul. 25, 2008); and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/447,186, filed Jun. 5, 2006, and titled: “Protective ThinFilms For Use During Fabrication of Semiconductors, MEMS, andMicrostructures” (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,067,258, issued Nov. 29, 2011).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to a carbon-doped alumina coating whichhas application as a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) surfaceprotective, functional film.

2. Brief Description of the Background Art

This section describes background subject matter related to theinvention, with the purpose of aiding one skilled in the art to betterunderstand the disclosure of the invention. There is no intention,either express or implied, that the background art discussed in thissection legally constitutes prior art.

Protective coatings currently used in the manufacture of MEMS devicesinclude but are not limited to: moisture barrier coatings, oxidationbarriers, anti-stiction coatings, “release” coatings, protectivecoatings for microdevices such as microfluidic devices, ink-jet heads,thin film heads, and other electronic and optical devices.

Currently known fluorocarbon coatings, such as self-assembled monolayers(SAMs) are used to provide a hydrophobic surface function; however,these coatings do not offer sufficient wear resistance. This isparticularly true with respect to micromechanical ormicroelectromechanical devices, in which a mechanical contact (sliding,touching, or physical interaction between the parts) requires durable,protective and non-sticky (non-tacky) films.

Wear-resistant, low surface energy coatings of silicon carbide (SiC) canbe deposited by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, providingconsiderable degree of protection, specifically wear reduction. W.Ashurst et al. in an article entitled “Tribological Impact of SiCEncapsulation of Released Polycrystalline Silicon Microstructures,”Tribology Letters, v. 17, 2004, 195-198, describe a method for coatingreleased polysilicon microstructures with a thin, conformal coating ofSiC derived from a single source precursor. The precursor was1,3-disilabutane (DSB). This coating method has been successfullyapplied to micromechanical test devices which allow the evaluation offriction and wear properties of the coating. Data for the coefficient ofstatic friction of the SiC coatings produced from DSB is presented inFIG. 1 of this application, for reference purposes. FIG. 1 shows a graph100 which illustrates the coefficient of friction, μ_(s), on axis 104,as a function of the number of wear cycles in millions on axis 102. Thewear testing was done using a polysilicon sidewall friction tester ofthe kind described by W. R. Ashurst et al. in Tribology Lett. 17(2004)195-198. Curve 106 represents wear testing of an oxidizedpolysilicon substrate with a native oxide surface. Curve 108 representswear testing of an anti-adhesion coating produced from vapor depositedDDMS over the surface of the sidewall friction tester. Curve 110represents wear testing of a silicon substrate which was treated with anoxygen plasma, followed by deposition of an SiC coating. The SiC coatingwas deposited by plasma assisted low pressure CVD, from a SiCl₄precursor at about 800° C., using a technique generally known in theart. The wear was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) ondevices which were cycled repetitively under a nominal load. Thistesting shows that the application of an SiC coating having a thicknessof about 40-50 nm provides good wear resistance as well as a significantreduction in friction on a micro scale.

A wear-resistant low surface energy coating which can be produced at lowtemperatures (in the range of about 200° C. or less) would be highlydesirable. Such a coating can be produced using atomic layer deposition(ALD) films produced at relatively low temperatures in the range 177°C.; however, the coating surface energy does not appear to be low enoughto provide efficient anti-stiction and passivation functions for MEMS.For example, T Mayer et al., in an article entitled: “Atomic-LayerDeposition of Wear-Resistant Coatings for MicroelectromechanicalDevices,” Applied Physics Letters, v. 82 N17, 28 Apr., 2003, describe athin, conformal, wear-resistant coating applied to a micromachines Sisurface structure by atomic-layer deposition (ALD). Ten nm thick filmsof Al₂O₃ were applied to a silicon surface using a binary reactionsequence with precursors of trimethyl aluminum and water. Deposition wascarried out in a viscous flow reactor at 1 Torr and 168° C., with N2 asa carrier gas, Cross-section transmission electron microscopy analysisshowed that the films were uniform to within 5% on MEMS devicestructures having an aspect ratio ranging from 0 to greater than 100.The Al₂O₃ film produced was stoichiometric.

Preliminary friction and wear measurements for the 10 nm thick Al₂O₃films showed a friction coefficient of 0.3 for a Si₃N₄ ball sliding on aflat Al₂O₃-coated substrate, and less wear particle generation than fora native-oxide-coated silicon substrate. At the time of publication ofthe paper, the nature of the wear and failure process as a function ofapplied load had not yet been determined.

There remains a need in the industry for a low energy coating which canprovide efficient anti-stiction and passivation functions for mems andwhich can be produced at low temperatures which are more tolerable tovarious MEMS substrates.

SUMMARY

A durable, functional film useful in protecting MEMS device surfaces canbe produced by doping an inorganic metal oxide film with relatively highlevels of carbon. Properly doped films exhibit both anti-stiction andlubricative properties. The inorganic metal oxide film is selected fromthe group consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide,hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, and combinations thereof. Aluminum oxideand titanium oxide work particularly well. The atomic percent of carbondopant which is added ranges from about 5 atomic % to 20 atomic % of thefilm composition. Experimental results have confirmed that carbon dopantranging from about 10 atomic % to about 15 atomic % of the film contentworks particularly well.

The carbon doping can be carried out using a metal oxide depositionreaction at relatively low temperatures, less than about 150° C., whichproduces limited oxidation. A precursor organo-metallic compound used todeposit the metal oxide via a vapor deposition technique such as atomiclayer deposition, when reacted at a sufficiently low temperature,produces a metal oxide containing unoxidized (incompletely reacted)hydrocarbon, which becomes incorporated as carbon into the metal oxidefilm. This is contrary to traditional semiconductor manufacturingrequirements, where metal oxide films are grown to be as pure aspossible, to provide improved dielectric isolation performance. In oneembodiment of the present invention, for example, a carbon dopedaluminum oxide film can be deposited from TMA and H₂O using atomic layerdeposition, for example, at a temperature in the range of about 25° C.to about 120° C. Or, a titanium oxide film can be deposited from TiCl₄and H₂O using atomic layer deposition, at a temperature in the range ofabout 25° C. to about 120° C.

The incorporation of carbon into the oxide film results in a relativelydurable carbonized metal oxide film which exhibits lubricative andanti-stiction properties. This has been illustrated using amicrofabricated polysilicon sidewall wear tester. Such carbon dopedmetal films perform particularly well. For example, an alumina filmdoped with about 10 atomic % carbon exceeds the performance of the bestdata published for a silicon carbide film.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows comparative examples for prior art competitive materials.FIG. 1 shows a graph 100 which illustrates the coefficient of friction,μ_(s), on axis 104, as a function of the number of wear cycles inmillions on axis 102. Curve 106 represents the wear testing of apolysilicon substrate with a native oxide surface. Curve 108 representsthe wear testing of an anti-adhesion coating produced from vapordeposited DDMS over the surface of a silicon substrate, and Curve 110represents the wear testing of a silicon substrate which was treatedwith an oxygen plasma, followed by deposition of an SiC coating.

FIG. 2 shows a graph 200 illustrating the XPS spectra taken of acarbon-doped alumina layer deposited using molecular vapor deposition(MVD) at low temperature. The signal strength at the binding energyindicative of carbon clearly illustrates the presence of carbon in thealuminum oxide film.

FIG. 3 shows the roughness of a carbon-doped alumina film, asillustrated by an atomic force microscope scan. The surface morphologyis very smooth with an RMS of 0.170 nm.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show cantilever beam arrays coated with low temperaturecarbon-doped aluminum oxide. The polysilicon detachment length isgreater than 1500 μm, which corresponds with a work of adhesion of lessthan 1 μJ/m².

FIG. 5A shows an SEM image of a polysilicon wear testing structure 500,including beam 502 and post 504, which can be used to test sidewallfriction along a beam surface, for example. The scale 506 shows 20 μm,illustrating the size of the elements shown.

FIG. 5B shows a comparative view 520 of contacting parts which werecoated with vapor deposited DDMS, a beam 522 and a post 524, where thecontacting parts were subjected to 250,000 wear cycles. Substantial wear(scarring) is shown on the beam, and wear debris is shown at the edge ofthe rubbed part of the beam 522 and on the anchored post 524.

FIG. 5C shows an SEM photomicrograph 530 of the contacting parts of apolysilicon substrate coated with a carbon-doped aluminum oxide film,after the contacting beam 532 and post 534 were subjected to 1,000,000wear cycles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As a preface to the detailed description, it should be noted that, asused in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms“a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents, unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

When the word “about” is used herein, this is intended to mean that thenominal value presented is precise within ±10%.

One aspect of the invention relates to an atomic vapor deposition methodof the kind which can be used to produce carbon-doped oxide films whichare embodiments of the present invention. Another aspect of the presentinvention relates to various embodiment carbon-doped oxide films, of thekind which can be applied to MEMS device surfaces to provide awear-resistant and anti-stiction performance which was not availableprior to the present invention.

A durable, conformal, wear-resistant film useful in protecting MEMSdevice surfaces can be produced by doping an inorganic metal oxide filmwith relatively high levels of carbon. Properly doped films exhibit bothanti-stiction and lubricative properties. The inorganic metal oxide filmis selected from the group consisting of aluminum oxide, titanium oxide,zirconium oxide, hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, and combinationsthereof. Aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, and combinations thereof workparticularly well. The atomic percent of carbon dopant which is addedtypically ranges from about 5 atomic % to 20 atomic % of the filmcomposition. Experimental results have confirmed that a carbon dopantconcentration ranging from about 10 atomic % to about 15 atomic % of thefilm content works particularly well.

The carbon doping can be carried out using a metal oxide depositionreaction at relatively low temperatures, which produces limitedoxidation. A precursor organo-metallic compound used to deposit themetal oxide via a vapor deposition technique such as atomic layerdeposition, when reacted at a sufficiently low temperature, produces ametal oxide containing unoxidized (incompletely reacted) hydrocarbon,which becomes incorporated as carbon into the metal oxide film. This iscontrary to traditional semiconductor manufacturing requirements, wheremetal oxide films are grown to be as pure as possible, to provideimproved dielectric isolation performance.

EXAMPLES OF ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION OF CARBON-DOPED METAL OXIDE FILMSFROM ORGANO-METALLIC PRECURSORS Example One

Pure alumina films can be deposited using various vacuum depositionmethods. Examples include physical vapor deposition (PVD), which istypically sputtered deposition, but may be deposition from evaporatedmaterial, and atomic layer deposition (ALD), not by way of limitation.

In an ALD process, thin layers of metal oxides may be deposited using avariety of organometallic precursors which are commonly known in theart. After reading the present disclosure, one of skill in the art mayproduce carbon-doped metal oxide films using an ALD process where theprecursor for film formation is organometallic alone, organometallicwith water, and organometallic with ozone, by way of example and not byway of limitation. For purposes of illustrating an embodiment of theinvention which is likely to be used frequently, employment of anorganometallic precursor in combination with water is described.Carbon-doped metal oxide films can be tailored easily when depositedusing two or more different vapor phase reactants. In the case of a tworeactant process, the substrate surface is contacted with a dose ofvapor from a first precursor, followed by pumping away of any excessunreacted vapor. Subsequently, the substrate surface is contacted with adose of vapor from the second precursor, which is allowed to react withthe first precursor which is present on the substrate surface, then anyexcess unreacted vapor is pumped away. This process may be repeated anumber of times, with each repetition being considered to be one“cycle”. The number of cycles determines the total thickness of thedeposited film/layer. In each step of a cycle, it is important that theamount of material deposited on the substrate surface is uniform, andthat at least a minimum coverage of the surface, i.e. a saturation ofthe surface is achieved. To deposit a metal oxide by ALD, the firstprecursor is typically an organo-metallic material, and the secondprecursor is typically water.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the commonly used ALD processhas been changed in order to incorporate carbon from the organo-metallicprecursor into the deposited film. To produce a carbon-doped aluminumoxide film, where the carbon atomic content of the film was 10%, thefollowing process was used.

The processing chamber used to produce the carbon-doped aluminum oxidefilm was an MVD Model 100, available from Applied Microstructures, Inc.of San Jose, Calif. The temperature of the processing chamber and thesample was 65° C. The processing chamber was purged with nitrogen gasinitially and between sequential exposures to precursor “A” which wastrimethylaluminum (TMA) and precursor “B” which was water vapor. Tennitrogen purge cycles were carried out after exposure of the substrateto TMA, and after exposure of the substrate to water vapor. Nitrogen gaspressure during a purge was in the range of about 10 Torr. In addition,the chamber pressure was pumped down to a base pressure of 0.1 Torrafter the nitrogen purge and prior to the charging of water vapor.

While the nominal values provided above are with respect to this ExampleOne, one skilled in the art may use a nitrogen gas pressure during thepurge which is in the range of about 1 Torr to about 100 Torr, typicallyabout 10 Torr to about 20 Torr. In addition, the pump down of thechamber between charging of a first precursor and the charging of asecond precursor may employ a base pressure ranging from about 0.001Torr and about 1 Torr, typically from about 0.01 Torr and about 0.1Torr.

The pressure in the processing chamber during the charge of each TMAinjection was 0.2 Torr, and the pressure in the processing chamberduring each water vapor injection was 0.8 Torr. The substratetemperature was at 65° C. during a TMA reaction period, and the timeperiod of substrate exposure to the TMS was 15 seconds, prior to purgewith nitrogen gas, followed by a subsequent pump down to base pressure.The substrate temperature was at 65° C. during a water vapor reactionperiod, and the time period of substrate exposure to the water vapor was15 seconds prior to purge with nitrogen gas, followed by a subsequentpump down to base pressure. Approximately 1.5 Å of carbon-doped film wasdeposited during each single deposition cycle. Fifty deposition cycleswere carried out to form a film having a thickness of 77 Å.

While the nominal values provided above are with respect to this ExampleOne, one skilled in the art may use a TMA injection pressure in theprocessing chamber ranging from about 0.01 Torr to about 1.0 Torr,typically ranging from about 0.1 Torr to about 0.5 Torr. Pressure duringthe water vapor injection may range from about 0.01 Torr to about 5Torr, typically ranging from about 0.1 Torr to about 1 Torr. Thesubstrate temperature during formation of the film may range from about35° C. to about 120° C., and is typically in the range of from about 50°C. to about 80° C.

The number of deposition cycles is typically in the range from about 10to about 100, depending on the required film thickness, with each cycleproducing from about 1.2 Å to about 2.0 Å of film thickness. As aresult, the protective film/layer thickness is in the range of about 20Å to about 400 Å, and is typically in the range of about 20 Å to about100 Å. One of skill in the art will recognize that the deposition rateof the carbon-doped film of the present invention is typically higherthan the deposition rate of the previously produced pure aluminum oxidefilm.

An optional SAM fluorocarbon film may be deposited on top of the dopedalumina film using methods generally available, to provide an additionalhydrophobic surface property or other functional property. This may beused to prevent stiction during manufacturing, for example, with theknowledge that the SAM will not hold up well under frictional wearin-use conditions. Multi-layered, laminated oxide film may be formedwhere a portion of the oxide layers are carbon-doped layers.

FIG. 2 shows a graph 200 illustrating the XPS spectra taken of acarbon-doped alumina layer deposited using molecular vapor deposition(MVD) at low temperatures. The Binding Energy in EV is shown on the axis202, and indicates the presence of carbon. The signal strength for thepresence of carbon in cts/sec is shown on axis 204. Curve 206 representsa carbon-doped aluminum oxide film which was deposited at a substratetemperature of 65° C. Curve 208 represents a carbon-doped aluminum oxidefilm which was deposited at a substrate temperature of 55° C. Curve 210represents a carbon-doped aluminum oxide film which was deposited at asubstrate temperature of 33° C. Curve 212 represents a carbon-dopedaluminum oxide film which was deposited at a substrate temperature of80° C. Curve 214 represents a carbon-doped aluminum oxide film which wasdeposited at a substrate temperature of 120° C. This graph indicatesthat there may be an optimum substrate temperature for increasing thecarbon content in the deposited carbon-doped aluminum oxide film. Thatoptimum temperature is lower than 120° C. and higher than 33° C., with65° C. providing a higher carbon content than 55° C.

Example Two

FIG. 3 shows the roughness of a carbon-doped alumina film, asillustrated by an atomic force microscope scan. This film was formed bythe method described in Example One. The surface image represents a 10.0μm by 10.0 μm size. The RMS is 0.17 nm, which is similar to a virginsilicon wafer surface RMS, indicating that the coating is extremelyconformal with the surface upon which it is deposited.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show cantilever beam arrays coated with low temperaturecarbon-doped aluminum oxide film. The polysilicon detachment length wasgreater than 1500° m, which corresponds to a work of adhesion which isless than 1 μJ/m². This compares with a work of adhesion in the range ofabout 20,000 μJ/m² for an oxidized silicon surface. The polysilicondetachment length (which is an indication of stiction properties for apolysilicon cantilever beam), for a 2.5 μm thick, 2 μm gap polysiliconcantilever, coated with the carbon-doped aluminum oxide film of ExampleOne, is greater than 1,500 μm. This compares with a pure aluminum oxidecoated polysilicon cantilever of the same thickness and gap size, whichexhibits a detachment length of 0 μm. Finally, the coefficient offriction measured for the carbon-doped aluminum oxide film depositedover a silicon substrate (as described with reference to Example One)was 0.1. This compares with an oxidized polysilicon surface whichexhibits a coefficient of friction in the range of 1.1. Experimentationhas indicated that the coefficient of friction for carbon-doped aluminumoxide films deposited in the manner described in example One, where thecarbon atomic % in the film ranges from about 5% to about 20% rangesfrom about 0.05 to about 0.4.

Example Three

FIG. 5A shows an SEM image of a polysilicon wear testing structure 500,including beam 502 and post 504, which can be used to test sidewallfriction along a beam surface, for example. The scale 506 shows 20 μm,illustrating the size of the elements shown.

FIG. 5B shows a comparative view 520 of contacting parts which werecoated with vapor deposited DDMS, a beam 522 and a post 524, where thecontacting parts were subjected to 250,000 wear cycles. Substantial wear(scarring) is shown on the beam, and wear debris is shown at the edge ofthe rubbed part of the beam 522 and on the anchored post 524.

FIG. 5C shows an SEM photomicrograph 530 of the contacting parts of apolysilicon substrate coated with a carbon-doped aluminum oxide film,after the contacting beam 532 and post 534 were subjected to 1,000,000wear cycles. While there is some debris on the surface of contactingbeam 532, which may be carbon-related debris, there is no major scarringof the surface of contacting beam 532.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised in view ofthe present disclosure, without departing from the basic scope of theinvention, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of depositing a low friction metal oxidefilm on a substrate, said method comprising: using an atomic layerdeposition technique, wherein said metal oxide film is deposited usingat least an organo-metallic precursor, and wherein said substrate is ata temperature of 150° C. or lower during deposition of said metal oxidefilm, whereby a carbon-doped metal oxide film is obtained.
 2. A methodin accordance with claim 1, wherein said metal oxide film is depositedusing an organo-metallic precursor and a water vapor precursor.
 3. Amethod in accordance with claim 1, wherein said substrate temperatureranges from about 25° C. to about 150° C.
 4. A method in accordance withclaim 3, wherein said substrate temperature ranges from about 25° C. toabout 120° C.
 5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein saidsubstrate temperature ranges from about 55° C. to about 80° C.
 6. Amethod in accordance with claim 1, wherein said organo-metallicprecursor contains a metal selected from the group consisting ofaluminum, indium, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, andcombinations thereof.
 7. A method in accordance with claim 6, whereinsaid metal is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, titanium,and combinations thereof.
 8. A method in accordance with claim 1,wherein a pressure in a processing chamber in which said carbon-dopedmetal oxide film is deposited ranges from about 0.01 Torr to about 1Torr during the deposition of said organo-metallic precursor upon saidsubstrate and ranges from about 0.01 Torr to about 5 Torr during thedeposition of said water vapor precursor.
 9. A method in accordance withclaim 8, wherein the time duration of exposure of said substrate to eachprecursor ranges from about 0.05 seconds to about 30 seconds.
 10. Amethod in accordance with claim 9, wherein deposition of anorganometallic precursor followed by deposition of a water vaporprecursor is considered to comprise one cycle, and wherein the number ofcycles carried out to form said low friction carbon-doped metal oxidefilm ranges from about 10 to about
 100. 11. A method of depositing afilm providing a coefficient of friction less than or equal to about 0.4on a substrate, said method comprising: depositing a carbon-doped metaloxide film by an atomic layer deposition technique, wherein saidcarbon-doped metal oxide film is deposited using at least anorgano-metallic precursor, and wherein said substrate is at atemperature of 150° C. or lower during deposition of said metal oxidefilm; wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting ofaluminum, indium, titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, andcombinations thereof; wherein a carbon content of said carbon-dopedmetal oxide film ranges from about 5 atomic % to about 20 atomic %;wherein the carbon-doping provides for a measured work of adhesion lessthan or equal to 10 μJ/m².
 12. A method in accordance with claim 11,wherein said coefficient of friction ranges from about 0.05 to about0.4.
 13. A method in accordance with claim 11, wherein said metal isselected from the group consisting of aluminum, titanium, andcombinations thereof.
 14. A method in accordance with claim 11, whereinsaid carbon content of said carbon-doped film ranges from about 10atomic % to about 20 atomic %.
 15. A method in accordance with claim 11,wherein said film thickness ranges from about 20 Å to about 400 Å.
 16. Amethod in accordance with claim 11, wherein said measured work ofadhesion ranges from 10 μJ/m² to about 0.5 μJ/m².
 17. A method inaccordance with claim 11, wherein said substrate defines at least oneMEMS device.
 18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein said MEMSdevice is selected from the following: bio-MEMS device, microfluidicdevice, ink-jet head, thin film head, or optical device.
 19. A method inaccordance with claim 11, wherein said substrate defines at least one ofthe following devices: a bio-MEMS device, a microfluidic device, anink-jet head, a thin film head, or an optical device.
 20. A method ofdepositing a film providing a coefficient of friction less than about0.4 on a substrate, said method comprising: depositing a carbon-dopedmetal oxide film by an atomic layer deposition technique, wherein saidcarbon-doped metal oxide film is deposited using at least anorgano-metallic precursor, and wherein said substrate is at atemperature of 150° C. or lower during deposition of said metal oxidefilm; wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting ofaluminum, titanium, and combinations thereof; wherein a carbon contentof said carbon-doped metal oxide film ranges from about 10 atomic % toabout 20 atomic %; wherein the carbon-doping provides for a measuredwork of adhesion less than or equal to 10 μJ/m².
 21. A method inaccordance with claim 20, wherein a thickness of said film ranges fromabout 20 Å to about 100 Å.
 22. A method in accordance with claim 20,wherein the carbon-doping provides for a measured work of adhesion ofless than 1 μJ/m².